


The Church of Hresvelg

by bethany81707



Series: Stories of Garreg Mach [29]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fictional Religion & Theology, Flash Fic, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Minor Dorothea Arnault/My Unit | Byleth, Minor Edelgard von Hresvelg/Lysithea von Ordelia, Minor Petra Macneary/Claude von Riegan, Psuedonyms, Rebuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:29:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29298933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethany81707/pseuds/bethany81707
Summary: Dorothea made slightly the wrong joke in slightly the wrong place and now there's a Church in Edelgard's name.
Series: Stories of Garreg Mach [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552720
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	The Church of Hresvelg

Dorothea flitted brightly around the clearing, chatting up old wartime friends with an ease born of twenty years of peacetime. It spoke highly of how well off Fodlan had become and how friendly it now was with other nations that these meetings between all these prominent heroes could happen at all, let alone that they could come to Brigid for one. Dorothea gave Ingrid a wave after a nice chat, and noticed Eleanor make her arrival.

“Hey, El! How’ve you been?” Dorothea called. Eleanor jumped, nodding politely as she looked around for the snack table. A short distance behind her, Elizabeth had a tight magical control over boxes of the pair’s delicious sugary snacks, and Dorothea was as ready as everyone else to start taking them as soon as they had been laid out.

“Hello, Dorothea. I’ve got something to show you, actually,” Eleanor said, although still focused on the baked goods. Dorothea offered to help, but Elizabeth was of the mind that trying to enlist aid would just slow them down. So instead, Dorothea was left to wonder just what exactly Eleanor had in mind.

Fortunately, the aid of magic made place setting easy, and Dorothea’s imagination did not have to wander far. Eleanor pulled, from beside one of the cupcake crates, a manifesto of some description. Only when Dorothea read it did she realise what was so significant about it.

_ Edelgard von Hresvelg believes in you. Whatever it is you want to do, however unlikely you think it might be, take a chance and try doing it. You might just attain it- and if not, who knows what you might learn in the process. _

_ It doesn’t matter who you are. Whether you’re a well fed son with a prominent father or an orphaned daughter drinking from drains, Edelgard promises you a place in the world. All you have to do is find it. _

“Rather encouraging, isn’t it?” Dorothea asked, trying her best not to let her nerves show. She may or may not have written this manifesto herself.

“I heard a customer say these as prayers before diving in to one of our dough loops. I had a look around Enbarr, and it turns out there’s a whole church preaching this,” Eleanor said, a mildly amused tone in her voice. Dorothea did not have enough confidence to say she was actually amused.

“I haven’t been in Enbarr for a while, I don’t remember this being around last time I was there,” Dorothea said.

“Yeah, it’s rather quaint, isn’t it? Edelgard fought so hard to dismantle the church, and now there’s a new church popping up with her as the figurehead,” Eleanor said. Dorothea had to wonder how dedicated Eleanor was to her disguise that she would manage to sound so detached from her former identity while at a party exclusively attended by people who knew the secret.

“Oh, heck with it. Edie, are you OK with this?” Dorothea asked.

“It’s playing with fire, Dorothea. I don’t want people latching onto this and maintaining this society a thousand years later while having found a loophole to be pigs about it. I’ve already found one,” Eleanor whispered.

“Fair’s fair. I didn’t expect them to establish a full blown church when I left the manifesto. If you can close the loophole, I’ll see if I can’t amend it in a new commandment, but I think it’ll be easier to steer this church in wise directions than try and shut it down and let some other church rise up later after we’re all too dead to do that,” Dorothea explained. Eleanor nodded, and took a step back.

“Well, me and Lys need to go greet Queen Petra and Claude. This is a vacation, and we have time to let things lie down for a few days,” Eleanor said, before walking off in their direction. Dorothea took one of their cakes, chewing it slowly as she looked back over the manifesto. Try as she might, she just could not spot the loophole Eleanor did. Had she truly been so foolish? Was everything Edelgard worked for facing destruction because of this half joke of hers?

“Ladies and gentle men of Fodlan, it is my honour to welcome you all to Brigid at last!” Petra called out. Dorothea’s heart fluttered in her chest, seeing Petra’s body was still in fine shape. 

“It is so full of wonder to see you so happy. I can see the future Edelgard fought to let you all be having was what you hoped for. I have been doing work on adopting her theories to Brigid. This week, though, I am hoping that we have more fun exploring the Brigid beaches and hunting grounds. I must be thanking the spirits for blessing me the chance to share such joy,” Petra said, her Fodlan tongue having gotten so much better. Dorothea marvelled at her oration until the last sentence bounced around in her head.

“Thank the spirits for blessing me…” Dorothea muttered to herself.

“Something the matter, Dorothea?” Petra asked. Dorothea jumped, looking where Petra had been standing moments ago and wondering how she got all the way here so quick. Claude probably had a hand in it.

“So I’ve accidentally created a religion based on Edie,” Dorothea said. Petra beamed.

“I saw it when I visited Enbarr a few weeks ago. It’s an interesting concept for one, too. The spirits of Brigid help children to understand what the world is like, what they should do to not break under its whims, and what they can do to take advantage of them. Edelgard is like this too. I might be biased, but I think this is the direction this new Church should focus on,” Petra suggested.

“Thanks for the encouragement, Petra. I hope I didn’t break anything, I didn’t mean to cause such a fuss…” Dorothea started.

“A reasonable fear, but I think it can be defeated with care. But not now, we have a beach party to throw!” Petra said.


End file.
